From 26 to 28 October 2025, the Conference on Low-Emission Refrigeration and Refrigerant Substitution was held in Foshan, Guangdong. The event focused on “Refrigerant Substitution” and “Energy-Saving and Carbon Reduction”, attracting over 200 participants, including representatives from national and local authorities, international organizations, research institutions, and industry stakeholders.
The conference was hosted by the Chinese Association of Refrigeration (CAR) and Sun Yat-sen University, organized by CAR’s Working Group on Low-Emission Refrigeration and Refrigerant Substitution, and co-organized by Midea Group, the Guangdong Provincial Association of Refrigeration, and the Journal of Refrigeration. It was supported by companies including Daikin, Danfoss, Midea Building Technologies, Honeywell, Chemours, and Shanghai Jingyi New Materials Technology.
The event included one themed forum, one international forum, and six sub-forums, along with the 2025 Annual Working Meeting of CAR’s Working Group on Low-Emission Refrigeration and Refrigerant Substitution.
At the opening ceremony, speeches were delivered by Dong Wenfu, Director of the Department of Atmospheric Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Prof. Jiang Yi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The ceremony was chaired by Wang Congfei, Deputy Secretary-General of CAR.
The themed forum included reports from representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, UNEP TEAP, Tsinghua University, China National Institute of Standardization, and Midea Group. Topics covered included implementation of the Montreal Protocol, global refrigerant substitution trends, zero-carbon refrigeration pathways, energy efficiency standards, and Midea’s compliance strategies under the Kigali Amendment.
The international forum featured speakers from UNIDO, the International Institute of Refrigeration, Danfoss, the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association, and Haier. Presentations addressed topics such as R-290 adoption, global refrigeration strategies, European policy trends, Japan’s environmental challenges, and low-GWP solutions for large-scale systems.
Six sub-forums addressed technical fields including refrigerant substitution in air-conditioning, cold chain and industrial refrigeration, natural and low-GWP refrigerants, energy efficiency improvements, and refrigerant recovery and disposal.
